Kash Hartz

3/20/2018
Period 2
Mrs. Chawkat
Annotated Bibliography
APA Citation: Alter, Lloyd. “Here's the dirt on a prefabricated plastic earth sheltered home design you
can buy off the shelf.” treehugger, November 30, 2015, https://www.treehugger.com/green-
architecture/green-magic-homes-are-probably-neither.html
Authority: Lloyd Alter is design editor of TreeHugger. He has been an architect, developer, inventor and
prefab promoter. He contributes to MNN.com, The Guardian, Azure and Corporate Knights magazines,
and is Adjunct Professor teaching sustainable design at Ryerson University School of Interior Design.
Lloyd is a Past President of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.
Currency: November 30, 2015 which falls well within the range of historical information.
Accuracy: Can be corroborated with
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?tabID=T003&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsTyp
e=SingleTab&searchType=SubjectGuideForm&currentPosition=26&docId=GALE%7CA173970522&do
cType=Article&sort=Relevance&contentSegment=&prodId=GPS&contentSet=GALE%7CA173970522
&searchId=R8&userGroupName=glen20233&inPS=true and https://energy.gov/energysaver/types-
homes/efficient-earth-sheltered-homes
Coverage: It is fairly light on background information of Earth bermed houses but, is really heavy on the
whole construction aspect of earth bermed houses ranging from material usage to heat transfer resistance
values for insulation.
URL: https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/green-magic-homes-are-probably-neither.html

Notes:
● Very energy efficient
● Does a great job at retaining constant temperatures all year round
● Fairly expensive to build
○ Hard to create fully waterproof
● Fiber-reinforced polymers are much cheaper ($41 per square foot for the shells) to use and are
lighter, stronger, and more waterproof than most materials
○ Not completely indestructible but, if the soil is laid down correctly it aids to the structural
integrity of the frame
● Inconsistent with insulation
○ R-value ranges
■ Some of it depends on the soil/ covering your putting on top of your building
● Not the greenest material (Fiber-reinforced polymers or FRP)
○ Can emit dangerous poisons if set on fire, hard to work with
○ Construction constraints
● Helps eliminate the need for concrete and then added waterproofing

Annotated Bibliography:
In the article, “Here's the dirt on a prefabricated plastic earth sheltered home design you can buy
off the shelf,” written by Lloyd Alter, it talks about an alternative material called fiber-reinforced
polymer, FRP, which is aimed to help consumers afford earth bermed houses. This material is lighter,
stronger, and much more waterproof than most materials. The application use for this material has been to
create shell frames which in turn allow soil, sand, mulch, etc. to be placed on top of it. The only drawback
to this is the environmental aspect. As amazing as this material is, it is very toxic when turned into dust or
burned into vapors. This creates hazardous work conditions and potential flags for house standards. It is
also doesn’t follow the green code. The green code is trying to create a better environment through not
only the use of energy but, also through the use of construction.
Lloyd Alter has been an architect, developer, inventor and prefab promoter. He is an Adjunct
Professor teaching sustainable design at Ryerson University School of Interior Design. Despite the source
being published three years ago, it falls well within the useable date range for historical artifacts. The
sources information can be corroborated with energy.gov website as well as lovely article written by Rob
Roy on the pros of earth sheltered houses. It is fairly light on background information of Earth bermed
houses but, is really heavy on the whole construction aspect of earth bermed houses. This background
ranges from material usage to the specifications of the materials. The specifications cover R-value,
waterproofing, strength, etc. This source is exactly what I was looking for because it shows a less
expensive way to create/ own an Earth bermed House. Earth bermed houses are typically hard to
construct so having a cheaper model may help open the idea of new forms of housing. The source was
extremely objective. As great as FRP sounds Lloyd Alter covers all the pros and cons which also helps
with my research. By supporting both sides it gives people a sense of reality while allowing them to make
informed decisions on what they want.